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Asthma among Staten Island fresh kills landfill and barge workers following the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks
Author(s) -
Cone James E.,
Osahan Sukhminder,
Ekenga Christine C.,
MillerArchie Sara A.,
Stellman Steven D.,
Fairclough Monique,
Friedman Stephen M.,
Farfel Mark R.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22645
Subject(s) - medicine , barge , asthma , odds ratio , environmental health , demography , sociology , marine engineering , engineering
Background Although airborne respiratory irritants at the World Trade Center (WTC) site have been associated with asthma among WTC Ground Zero workers, little is known about asthma associated with work at the Staten Island landfill or barges. Methods To evaluate the risk of asthma first diagnosed among Staten Island landfill and barge workers, we conducted a survey and multivariable logistic regression analysis regarding the association between Staten Island landfill and barge‐related work exposures and the onset of post‐9/11 asthma. Results Asthma newly diagnosed between September 11, 2001 and December 31, 2004 was reported by 100/1,836 (5.4%) enrollees. Jobs involving sifting, digging, welding, and steel cutting, enrollees with high landfill/barge exposure index scores or who were police and sanitation workers, and enrollees with probable posttraumatic stress disorder all had increased odds ratios for new‐onset asthma. Conclusions Post‐9/11 asthma cumulative incidence among Staten Island landfill/barge workers was similar to that of other WTC disaster rescue and recovery workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:795–804, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.